Saying Goodbye

[Update] Today's Salt Lake Tribune includes an obituary for Mary Canzater. She died Tuesday night at the age of 57, after a five-month battle with cancer.

Just before doctors informed her that the bowel cancer which had been successfully removed 10 years before had returned, she sat in on a discussion about her son, Chris Hutcherson's battle with cancer, which formed the climax of the City Weekly story, Dying to Live, published last summer.

Chris wanted to pursue a radical new chemo therapy treatment to continue his six-year-long battle with his rare form of cancer. Mary had her reservations about the new treatment, but she was always there, fighting in her son's corner.

Watching her downcast eyes, the sadness on her face as her son struggled to make sense of the medical opinions and the emotional arguments made by hospice employees he was then being advised by, it was striking how much the love she had for her son shone from her features that morning, even at what must have been one of her darker days.

Chris continues to battle his cancer, although it appears he has opted not to continue with chemo therapy. This Saturday his fight will be put aside as he buries his mother at Memorial Estates. (Stephen Dark)

T.M.I.

[Obits] You know, it's quite possible to write a loved one's obituary with just too much information.

I mean, as a huge fan and seasoned critic of the obits in The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret Morning News, I've found that some are more fascinating to read than others. But there's something downright creepy about the subtext of this one. (Holly Mullen)

Almost Twiggy

[Death & Fashion] I love this obituary.

I got my first pair of bellbottom pants at Adrien & Emilie in Salt Lake City in 1969, maybe 1970.The pants were pumpkin orange, fine-wale corduroy. My mom was feeling flush and bought me a purple cotton knit “body shirt” with orange stripes to match. I wanted to be Twiggy.

As for Emilie Segil Martin, some women just know how to live. (Holly Mullen)